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Biblical Judaism
Unit 4: Judaism
Covenant with Abraham
• The Patriarchal Period (Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob) was the time of
the establishment of a covenant
where in God agreed to love
humanity and humanity agreed to
love God rather than the many
Gods of Polytheistic Mesopotamia.
• 1. idea that Jews
• represented God's
• Chosen People
• 2. idea of a Promised
• Land
Slaves in Egypt
• When a severe drought struck
Canaan, the decedents of
Abraham were forced to move to
Egypt where they flourished.
• Eventually, the Egyptians turned
on the Hebrews and enslaved
them. By the time Ramses II
became Pharaoh, slavery was a
fact of Hebrew life, with liberation
a distant, idealistic dream.
• Moses emerged as a liberator born a Hebrew Slave and later
adopted by the Pharaoh's family,
Moses grew up in the imperial
court.
Moses – A Prophet
• We all know the story of Moses and how he was
able to have the Jews freed (the Ten Plagues on
the Egyptians in order to convince the Pharaoh
to let the Hebrew people go)
Passover
• The tenth Plague called on the
angel of death to descend on
Egypt and take the first-born of al
who lived in the region. God
instructed Moses to tell the
Hebrews that they could escape
this plague by smearing lamb's
blood over their doors.
• In this way, death would "pass
over" their homes because the
blood would be a sign that the
house belonged to a descendant
of Abraham. This event is
celebrated in the Jewish festival
of Passover.
God’s Covenant with Moses
• God provided his people with the
commandments that would allow
them to keep the covenant - the
Ten Commandments emphasized
the nature of God's existence as
well as the laws that the people
would need to follow in order to
keep their covenant with God. The
Passover, the Exodus, and the Ten
Commandments serve as specific
renewals of the covenant between
God and the people.
• 1. Nature of God's existence
• 2. Law
Judges & Kings
• The Jews lived a nomadic
existence in the Sinai for
forty years until they reached
the land of Canaan. This
marks the beginning of the
biblical period of Judges and
Kings.
• First the Jews were lead by
people referred to as Judges
- Judges were like tribal
leaders or Chieftains who led
the people through periods of
crisis. Judges were
charismatic (charming) and
inspiring people, were either
men or women, and helped
the Jews establish a sense
of identity.
• By about 1000 BCE, the Jews began to long for a king to lead them.
God eventually agreed to give Saul the status of King because of
the growing threats form a neighbouring tribe, the Philistines.
• Saul was succeeded by David,: whose kingship marks the highpoint
of Jewish imperial history. After wining some decisive victories
against his enemies, David eventually established Jerusalem as his
capital city.
• His son Solomon built a temple that would serve as the centre of
worship for the Jewish faith for the next millennium. However, after
the death of Solomon, the kingdom broke up.
• Around 921 BCE, the northern tribes separated from the southern
tribes (who took the name of Israel). The southern tribes, centered
on Jerusalem, which became known as Judah. The era of the kings
was coming to an end; outside forces would soon impose
themselves on the Hebrews again.
The Exile
• Jewish autonomy and independence would be dramatically altered by two
military conquests. In 721 BCE, the Assyrians invaded and captured the
territory of Israel. The invading troops not only took the land but also evicted
many of the region's citizens, scattering Israel's population.
• Then in 586 BCE, Babylonian invaders captured Judah and destroyed
Solomon's Temple. 10,000 Jewish community leaders were captured and
sent into exile in Babylon. This event is known as the Exile or the Babylonian
Captivity. They were held there until Cyrus the Great of Persia released
them in 538 BCE, when he defeated the Babylonians.
• With the temple destroyed and the Jews dispersed, Jews had to find a new
way to honour God - placed of worship, now know as synagogues, were
created. Furthermore, the time of the Exile marked the beginning intense
scholarly analysis of scripture and the emergence of teachers known as
Rabbis who sought to interpret the Bible to make it more comprehensible to
the average person. Finally, the period of Exile saw the development of the
belief in a divine kingship characterized by a Messiah - Jews living in
captivity hoped for the coming of a great king that would lead them out of
oppression.
• After the conquest of
Babylon, the Jews
were encouraged to
return home. In 515
BCE, a second temple
was completed.
The Diaspora
• By the third century BCE, the
majority of Jews lived in the
Diaspora, so they created new
standards for their faith traditions.
• In 332 BCE, Alexander the Great
conquered much of the known
world including Persia, Egypt and
India.
• Thus Jews in those regions fell
under the influence of Greek
Culture, a process called
Hellenization.
• Jews embraced Greek culture to
the point that the Bible was
translated into Greek.
Maccabean Revolt
• In 168 BCE, the Greeks
converted the Temple into a
shrine to the Greek god Zeus
- growing dissatisfaction with
the Greek ruling culture
amongst the Jewish
population lead to a group of
rebels, called the
Maccabees, to lead a revolt
against the Greeks.
• By 164 BCE, the Maccabees
were in control of Jerusalem
and the temple was restored.
The Maccabees would rule
until the Roman conquest.
The Romans
• In 64 BCE, Jerusalem was conquered
by the Romans. By this time, several
Jewish sects emerged. The growing
sophistication of Jewish belief,
combined with the harshness of Roman
rule, lead to a renewed emphasis on
the coming of the Messiah.
• Heavy taxation, unfair administration of
justice, and Roman control of both the
temple and the high priest soon proved
too much for the Jews.
• In 66 CE, the Jews revolted and
eventually gained control of the temple
and a Roman fortress. Rome
responded with force. In 70 CE, the
temple was destroyed and the Jews
were to once again reform their ways.
Rabbinic Judaism
• Without the temple, Priests of
old were replaced by rabbis
and synagogues became the
main venue for worship.
• Prayer practice that took
place at the temple, now
focused on the Jewish home
and in the Synagogue.
• During this time, the Mishnah,
and latter the Talmud became
established.
• The Jewish experience from
the Exile to the Roman
occupation is one of
inspiring fortitude and an
unfailing will to preserve the
faith. By the Middle Ages,
Judaism had established
deep intellectual and
spiritual roods that would
ensure its survival.
ISU Work
Read pages…
•
Jewish History (pg. 30-31)
•
Abraham (pg. 32-33)
•
Moses (pg. 34-35)
AND answer the following questions…
1. What did Abraham believe?
2. What happened to the country when David was king?
3. What did all the prophets believe?
4. What title do Jews give Abraham?
5. What is a nomad?
6. Why do you think the people of Ur worshipped their gods with
human sacrifices?
7. What work did God have for Moses?
8. What were the plagues?
9. What was God’s second promise?
10. Explain what the Covenant is, and why it is important to Jews.
HRT 3M1 - Homework
• Read pages 217-224 and answer
questions #1-4 of “Check your
Understanding”